Gujarat farmers' suicide: Reasons include failure to offer mimimum support price for cotton, financial crisis

By A Representative
A fact-finding team, consisting of representatives of three Gujarat-based farmers’ organizations, has reached the conclusion, on the basis of a spot query, that farmers are in deep financial crisis, one reason why a new tendency are cropped up among them to commit suicide. A report prepared by Persis Ginwalla , Balendra Vaghela and Sagar Rabari of Jameen Adhikar Andolan Gujarat, Saurashtra-Kutch Lok Hit Sangharsh Samiti and the Khedut Samaj Gujarat, respectively, said, as against Rs 800 offered to them as minimum support price (MSP) for per 20 kg of cotton, the minimum input cost comes to at least Rs 1,042.
“This suggests that each farmer suffers a loss of at least Rs 242 per 20 kg while producing cotton. MSP is what the government must offer to cotton farmers, but in the market they get just about Rs 600 to Rs 650, while the government is totally indifferent towards offering farmers with MSP. This is against what they had earned last year, around Rs 1,600 per 20 kg, one reason why they decided to sow cotton on their fields in large numbers”, said Vaghela, releasing their report to mediapersons in Ahmedabad.
The spot inquiry of the condition of farmers was carried out in a village where a young farmer Arvindbhai Bhupatbhai Nagani, committed suicide by setting himself to fire as a symbolic protest against cotton prices on December 22. Belonging to Dharai village, near Chotila taluka of Rajkot district of Saurashtra region, the report said, majority of the 4,000 villagers belong to the backward Koli community. It added, considering the cattle population of the village, it should have around 1,200 acres of grazing land; “but most of it is riddled with encroachment, and the actual land for grazing is just about 33 acres.”
“Drinking water was envisaged from Narmada, and though a pipeline was laid down, water has still not reached the village. Upon lodging a complaint, the villagers were told that since the village is located in a remote area, it is not feasible for water to reach there. There is a borewell in the village from which drinking water is supplied, but during summers the groundwater levels go down drastically, and there is acute scarcity”, the report said.
The report further said, “There is no health centre in the village. In a nearby village, Anandpur, there there is a health centre, there is no resident doctor, and services are not available when required. Necessary health services are available at Vinchhiya village, which is 16 kilometres away.” It added, while there is a primary school up to eighth standard, the nearest high school is about 24 km away, in Jasdan.
Situated on a terrain, no irrigation facilities are available to the farmers of the village. Farmers, as a result, are able to grow just one crop, earning supplementary income from animal husbandry. “Due to rising prices and in order to shoulder family responsibilities, farmers are switching over to cash crops”, the report said.
It added, “Farmers though that as cotton crop is relatively more rewarding, increasing number of farmers moved towards growing it. However, input costs for growing the crop, including labour costs, are high. Because of lack of education, the farmers are unable to keep track of income they can earn by growing the crop, and they in for producing the crop in the hope of getting a bumper crop”.
Addressing newspersons, Vaghela said, reports of farmers’ suicides are continuing to pour in, especially from Saurashtra region. “With the latest report of a farmer from Kalavad village in Jamnagar district having committed suicide on Monday, already, over the last fortnight, in all four farmers have committed suicide”, he said. Added Indukumar Jani, a senior activist, “Large number of small and marginal farmers is go to the moneylender as the formal banking system, including the cooperative banks, do not offer loan at a cheaper rate.”

Comments

MG-NREGA: A global model still waiting to be fully implemented

By Bharat Dogra When the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MG-NREGA) was introduced in India nearly two decades ago, it drew worldwide attention. The reason was evident. At a time when states across much of the world were retreating from responsibility for livelihoods and welfare, the world’s second most populous country—with nearly two-thirds of its people living in rural or semi-rural areas—committed itself to guaranteeing 100 days of employment a year to its rural population.

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

Concerns raised over move to rename MGNREGA, critics call it politically motivated

By A Representative Concerns have been raised over the Union government’s reported move to rename the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), with critics describing it as a politically motivated step rather than an administrative reform. They argue that the proposed change undermines the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi and seeks to appropriate credit for a programme whose relevance has been repeatedly demonstrated, particularly during times of crisis.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Rollback of right to work? VB–GRAM G Bill 'dilutes' statutory employment guarantee

By A Representative The Right to Food Campaign has strongly condemned the passage of the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB–GRAM G) Bill, 2025, describing it as a major rollback of workers’ rights and a fundamental dilution of the statutory Right to Work guaranteed under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). In a statement, the Campaign termed the repeal of MGNREGA a “dark day for workers’ rights” and accused the government of converting a legally enforceable, demand-based employment guarantee into a centralised, discretionary welfare scheme.

Making rigid distinctions between Indian and foreign 'historically untenable'

By A Representative Oral historian, filmmaker and cultural conservationist Sohail Hashmi has said that everyday practices related to attire, food and architecture in India reflect long histories of interaction and adaptation rather than rigid or exclusionary ideas of identity. He was speaking at a webinar organised by the Indian History Forum (IHF).

From jobless to ‘job-loss’ growth: Experts critique gig economy and fintech risks

By A Representative Leading economists and social activists gathered in the capital on Friday to launch the third edition of the State of Finance in India Report 2024-25 , issuing a stark warning that the rapid digitalization of the Indian economy is eroding welfare systems and entrenching "digital dystopia."

School job scam and the future of university degree holders in West Bengal

By Harasankar Adhikari The school recruitment controversy in West Bengal has emerged as one of the most serious governance challenges in recent years, raising concerns about transparency, institutional accountability, and the broader impact on society. Allegations that school jobs were obtained through irregular means have led to prolonged legal scrutiny, involving both the Calcutta High Court and the Supreme Court of India. In one instance, a panel for high school teacher recruitment was ultimately cancelled after several years of service, following extended judicial proceedings and debate.

India’s Halal economy 'faces an uncertain future' under the new food Bill

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* The proposed Food Safety and Standards (Amendment) Bill, 2025 marks a decisive shift in India’s food regulation landscape by seeking to place Halal certification exclusively under government control while criminalising all private Halal certification bodies. Although the Bill claims to promote “transparency” and “standardisation,” its structure and implications raise serious concerns about religious freedom, economic marginalisation, and the systematic dismantling of a long-established, Muslim-led Halal ecosystem in India.

Search This Blog